If you thought that mobile game development companies aren’t that valuable, you may want to re-evaluate that thought as China-based Tencent is buying a majority stake in Clash of Clans developer Supercell from Japanese telecom group Softbank for a whopping USD 8.6 billion.
Tencent’s acquisition of Finnish development group Supercell is the Chinese company’s biggest acquisition to date. It also reinforces Supercell’s position as the world’s biggest videogame publisher by revenue. Tencent’s decision to buy a 84.3% stake in Supercell from Softbank has led to Supercell being valued at USD 10.2 billion – nearly double its valuation from a year ago.
Seeing as China is one of the biggest markets for mobile games, Tencent’s acquisition of Supercell may prove to be a win-win for both sides. According to Supercell Chief Executive Ilkka Paananen, the developer is currently working on integrating its gaming platforms into Tencent’s WeChat and other social platforms in China. WeChat is China’s most popular messaging app with 762 million monthly active users.
Supercell wouldn’t be the first game company that Tencent has acquired of course. Back in 2011, Tencent became a major player in the games industry by acquiring League of Legends developer Riot Games. With Supercell now part of Tencent, the Chinese company looks poised to grab 13% of the nearly USD 100 billion global game industry.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
